Caelum Family Album
by DancerInTheDark101
Summary: Moments between King Regis and Prince Noctis; between father and son. [Chapter 2: It's Noctis' sixteenth birthday and Regis has a very special gift to give him]
1. A Prince is Born

A/N: So, turns out I am a HUGE King Regis fan. What he did for his son was incredible and it was clear that he loved Noctis very much. It's not very often you see a loving family relationship with these kinds of storylines, so I am totally taking advantage of it! I have several ideas for more snapshots into the lives of Regis and Noctis, but it may take time to get them all written.

I am also slowly writing the next chapter of Insomniac Dreams. Thank you so much for all the amazing feedback!

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The scariest moment of his life was the first time he ever laid eyes on him.

It had been hours since he had been banned from entering the ward. Regis had wanted to stay with his wife while she gave birth, but as it got closer to the time, he had been instructed to leave. It was not common practice for the father not to be at the moment of birth, but Queen Aulea's labour had been long and difficult and Regis was okay with leaving if it meant both his wife and child would survive childbirth.

The King was currently pacing up and down the corridor in anticipation. His loyal and trusted friends waited with him, both Cor and Titus standing still as they kept the King guard, while Clarus smirked at him from his place by the far door. Neither Cor nor Titus had children, but Clarus had welcomed a son only a few years prior and had been through all this before.

The four were the only ones around, as per standard operating procedure. The royal family had an entire wing of Insomnia Hospital that in the event of the royals needing admittance, would be closed off to the general public. Only chosen personnel, Crownsguard and the Kingsglaive were permitted to enter.

In the event of a royal birth, the security was even tighter.

"Your Majesty?"

Regis stopped pacing and twisted around to face the nurse that was standing in the entrance to the maternity ward. She was smiling.

"Is she...?"

The nurse nodded. "The Queen is just fine, Your Majesty. She had requested your presence." With that, the nurse bowed low and stepped backwards through the ward doors, motioning for the King to follow her.

Regis swallowed and shot a nervous grin at his friends before trailing after the nurse. At this point in time, he was not a King, just a man who had just become a father and was about to see his first-born child for the first time.

As he followed the nurse down the hallways, Regis wondered what his child was. Normally the royal family would find out whether their child was a boy or a girl (especially for the first-born) but every time the Queen had an ultrasound, their unborn child had decided to be shy and hide from them. Both of them hoped for a boy, but Regis would be happy with a girl too. All that mattered was that they were healthy.

"The Queen is just inside this room, Your Majesty."

Regis almost ran into the poor woman as he was so deep in his thoughts. Gathering his wits, the King nodded his thanks to the nurse and to the two Kingsglaive standing guard and pushed the door open.

The lighting in the room was dimmed and the King could only just make out the large, comfortable bed set against the furtherest wall from the door. The systemic beeping of a medical machine broke the otherwise silent atmosphere. As he made his way further into the room, Regis could see the form of his Queen lying amongst the covers. An intricately carved cradle had been placed right beside the bed.

"Aulea?" he rasped out. Gods, was that his voice? He sounded so nervous, which in fact was very true.

"Come, Regis. I'd like you to meet someone very special." Her voice was weak and she sounded absolutely exhausted. But there was so much love in those words and the new father felt his heart start to beat harder in his chest.

He ambled over to the bed and as he approached he could see a small bundle wrapped in a while blanket against his wife's chest. A shock of dark hair poked out the top.

Regis stepped up to the head of the bed and he reached out, resting his hand against Aulea's pale cheek before bending over and placing a kiss to her forehead.

It was then that he got his first proper look at his heir.

"I'd like you to meet your son." And the blanket was pulled away from the child's face.

He had a son!

Regis had never seen something so perfect in his life. He and his wife had created this small person. The infant was tiny. Perfect, but tiny. Regis couldn't help but notice the newborn already looked like a Caelum with his pale skin and dark hair.

The King stretched out his arm and with a shaking hand, ran his fingers over the soft, downy hair of his son. The infant whimpered and opened his mouth several times, mashing his gums together before settling back down, a tiny fist curled up by his face.

"Would you like to hold him, Regis?"

Yes. Yes he would very much like to hold his son. Nodding his answer, the new father positioned himself on the bed next to his wife and settled in. He waited as Aulea pulled herself into a better sitting position.

"Place your arms like this," she instructed and Regis complied, copying her actions and then, suddenly his son was lowered into his arms.

He gasped as he looked down at his heir. Eyes shining, Regis smiled through the tears. "Thank you, my love."

His son yawned again, this time as he finished, his eyes opened for the first time in Regis' presence and the monarch couldn't help but inhale sharply at what stared back at him. His son had the most vibrant blue eyes he had ever seen.

"My son," Regis whispered. "Noctis Lucis Caelum, the Prince of Lucis."

For almost an hour the royal family sat there, admiring their new son and memorising every aspect of his being. It was only when he started to get fussy that the Queen took over and placed Noctis back into his crib.

Regis stood. "I will let you two rest now. I am certain that Cor and the others are most anxious to find out about our son." Aulea flashed him a tired grin.

"Of that I am certain. Here," she plucked something off the bedside table and handed it to Regis. "Show them this. It will get them off your back for a while." It was a photo of Noctis, sleeping in his crib.

"Get some rest, Aulea. I shall come back in a few hours to check on both you and Noctis." As his Queen's eyes started to drift close, Regis leant over and placed a kiss on her lips.

Regis closed the door quietly, so not to wake his slumbering wife and son. He turned to make his way back to his Crownsguard, only to find the three men leaning against the opposite wall. All three were grinning at him, albeit Cor was much more reserved.

"My friends," he spoke with a grin, reaching out to show them the photo Aulea had given him.

"It's a boy?" Clarus exclaimed as he looked at the photo. "Congratulations, Your Majesty."

Regis nodded. "Lucis has been graced with a new Prince. My son, Noctis Lucis Caelum."

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A/N: So I hope I did this some justice... I have never had a kid, so I have no idea of the feelings a new parent must feel, but I've had a puppy! That totally counts, right?

Anyway I hope you enjoyed. Let me know what you think. Thanks for reading!


	2. A Birthday Tradition

A/N: Well, it's been a while. Sorry bout that. This is a joint birthday (Noctis - 30th August) and Father's Day (Australia - 3rd September) fic that is just a little late. I hope you like it!

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"Happy birthday son."

Noctis stared at the pristinely wrapped present laid on the table before him. It was large and rectangular in shape and covered in stunning black paper embossed with the silver skull that was the Caelum Royal crest.

Today was the prince's sixteenth birthday and even though there was to be an official celebratory gathering later that night, his father had requested that he would like to give Noct his present in private – just the two of them.

No matter what the present was, Noct already thought he had the best birthday gift already. Between his father's health deteriorating, royal duties and high school, Noct barely got to spend any time with his dad any more. But today, Regis had set aside five hours so they could have a nice lunch and just spend some time together.

Lunch had been perfect. Every dish had been one of Noctis' favourites (he had a feeling Ignis had been behind at least half of them) and to make it better, there were no vegetables in sight! Regis had even been lenient enough to let Noct have some wine with lunch, something normally only allowed for the formal occasions.

Now the table had been cleared and a large, wrapped box had replaced the food.

"Wow, Dad… this is… a rather large present."

Regis chuckled at his son's slightly baffled expression. Yes it was slightly larger than anything Noct had ever received from him before, but this was a special birthday and this particular present was a family tradition.

"Well go on then. Open it!"

The prince didn't need any more encouraging. Leaning over, Noct started to pry away the tape holding the wrapping together. After a few seconds of tugging, he was able to peel away the paper to reveal a wooden box, stained almost black.

The box was at least five feet long and was decorated with intricate silver designs along the sides and bottom half of the lid. Two latches on the side told Noctis where to open it. At the top, the words _Happy Birthday Noctis_ were inscribed in an ornate silver font and below that, the Caelum family crest had been placed.

It was an absolutely gorgeous piece of work and Noctis had to swallow back the slight nervousness that had jumped up his throat as he reached out to open it. He flicked the latches open and glanced up to his dad, only to see him watching with a small smile on his face and… were those _tears_ in his eyes?

The lid opened with a creak and he pushed it up until it caught on the metal rods that would lock it in place

Noctis got his first look at what lay in the box. The air rushed out of his lungs as he gaped in awe, his mouth hanging open slightly.

It had to be one of the most stunning swords he had ever seen.

Lying on a bed of black satin, the silver sword gleamed under the lighting in the room. It was almost the length of the box, the blade silver with a cut of black slashing down the middle, tapering off to a point.

The hilt however…

Noct had seen some of the old Insomnian technology in the Citadel's history books and photos and this looked like it had come straight off the pages. The mechanical aspects to the hilt were a stark contrast to the sleek lines of the blade, but for some reason, it just seemed to work.

"Dad..." he breathed out, still staring in awe at the sword before him. "This… I… I don't know what to say."

"It is a Caelum family tradition to receive your very own weapon on your sixteenth birthday. I do hope you like it?"

Was that a hint of nervousness in his father's voice? He gave his dad a small smile before glancing back down at the sword. It looked _expensive_. He didn't even want to think about how much it would have cost. It couldn't have been easy to find either.

"Dad, I love it. Where would you have even found something like this?"

Regis stepped around the table to stand by his son, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I didn't find it anywhere. I had this designed and made for you."

His dad had _what_? Eyes flicking back to the sword (he couldn't seem to keep his eyes off it), he looked at it in a whole new light. It was custom made? Just for him?

Of all the gifts he had received been given in his life, the most precious one had been from his father. He had been given a Carbuncle statuette whilst he had been in coma, recovering from the Marilith attack. He still had it to this day.

But now there was this sword. The fact that his father had designed it himself, instead of buying it off a shelf meant so much more to Noct than his father could ever know.

Brushing his fingers over the intricate mechanical aspects of the hilt, Noctis itched to hold the sword; _his sword_.

"As a part of this gift, I have asked both Cor and Clarus to clear their duties for one afternoon a week to teach you how to wield the blade properly."

Noct almost felt read to burst with happiness. He was pretty suer that if he smiled any wider, his face would split. So far, all of his training had been with Gladio or Ignis and even though they were both excellent teachers, nothing compared to Clarus Amicitia, the King's Shield. Plus, what teenage boy didn't want private lessons with _Cor the Immortal!_

"Now Noctis," Regis said, smiling fondly down at his son. "This sword comes bestowed with a name already. It is called the Engine Blade and has been designed and forged in such a way that one day it may be upgraded to increase it's power. There are a few in Insomnia who have the tools and knowledge to do so and one other in a small town in Leide, should you ever be out that way."

"The Engine Blade..." Noctis murmured. "Thanks so much, Dad. I will do my best to make sure I am worthy of such a weapon."

"You always have been and always will be, worthy of this blade, my son."

Noct let his fingers trail down the silver and black blade of the sword before turning to his father and wrapping his arms around him in a tight embrace.

Regis let himself fall into the hug, winding his arms around his son and pulling him in closer. He breathed in deeply, letting the smell of Noctis' shampoo and cologne invade his senses. It wasn't long ago that his son was small enough to be carried around and wished for hugs every few hours.

Now Noctis was growing up and Regis didn't know how much time they had left together. He made a promise to himself that he would take advantage of every moment with his son that he could.

Looking over Noct's shoulder at the Engine Blade, Regis just hoped that it would serve his son well and protect him long after he could not.

"Happy birthday Noctis. I love you so much. Never forget that."

And if the tears finally fell, neither one of them mentioned it.

"I love you too, Dad."

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A/N: Where did that angst come from? Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed. Thanks so much for reading. Please let me know what you thought!

Also, for those waiting on the next Insomniac Dreams chapter - it's ALMOST DONE! Yay!


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